Today was ballast water exchange day. This is one of my favorite days. I was on a ship once where we would go and lay out in the water....and then once the pumps were secure we'd hop into the man holes for a quick dip. The water would feel great but after a few minutes I'd be so tweaked out about the potential sea snakes that I'd get back out and lay on the deck in 6 inches of water.
So, we exchange ballast water to prevent marine organisms from migrating to areas where they can potentially become invasive species. The best example of this is zebra mussels. However, there are numerous other examples. Because we've just left Djibouti to go back into the Persian Gulf we exchange our water. There are two methods to do this...completely emptying your tanks and then re-filling them.....or letting them overflow to displace all the water that was in the tank. We usually have to do the overflow method because emptying our tanks completely causes too much stress on our hull (we are rarely completely empty of cargo when we leave Djibouti...so there are some cargo tanks full).
I was particularly happy that today was ballast water exchange day. I think it brings out the kid in all of us. Who didn't love water day at school? Slipin' slide? If the teacher said bring extra clothes to school the next day you knew something good was going to happen.
So let me digress....
I have a Chief Mate who says 'Megan, you won't survive out here if you don't learn how to get rid of those Mad-Ons!'. I realize that gender equality is something that we as a society have strived for. However, there are certain undeniable truths. First and foremost female brains are quite complicated.
After sailing for a few years I've realized exactly how much more complicated my thought process is compared to my fellow shipmates. I would like to state for the record that I know men are capable of feeling and processing deep emotion. However, it does seem like they are a little better at discerning when deep emotion is warranted. It is also distinctly possible that I am overly dramatic at times. I've been working on not keeping mad on's.
I also have a Bosun who says 'Megan! There is NO crying on tankers!'. I have to agree...nothing is more disgusting then seeing someone cry on the deck of a tanker. I have a personal crying policy...remind me to elaborate later.
My dear friend told me to make sure that this doesn't turn into a personal journal...there is a point to this long winded ramble I promise....bear with me....
Okay, so since I'm not supposed to keep mad-on's and I can't cry on deck....and since I am a very emotional creature....I require tools to keep myself in check. It was very fortuitous that today was ballast water day because I got to put on my happy feet (one of my favorite tools)!
Hot pink rubber boots with white polka dots! Hells-yeah!
